Latest Brianbell Podcast Episodes
Happy Together
Post-Pinkerton - January 30, 2019 13:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 52. When last week's episode was released, the album that features "Happy Together" was a mystery to us. But despite last week's surprise release of The Teal Album, the sixth track from this new record of covers was first performed all the way back in 2002, by request of Spike Jonze. John ex...
Hash Pipe
Post-Pinkerton - January 23, 2019 13:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 51. A big show for a big song: John dives deep into the 18-year life of "Hash Pipe." Today's episode has everything: Summer Songs 2000, The Green Album, the TV show Peter Gunn, a Massachusetts band called The Shods, and the Santa Monica prostitute who inspired it all. LISTEN: 1. "Hash Pi...
Silent Night
Post-Pinkerton - December 25, 2018 11:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 50. "Silent Night" is the last track on the Christmas With Weezer EP. John takes it as an opportunity to reflect on why he likes this EP, what the detractors have to say about it, and why he thinks it's sneakily one of the band's best Post-Pinkerton projects. LISTEN: 1. "Silent Night" on...
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Post-Pinkerton - December 21, 2018 12:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 49. On today's show, John talks about "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," why Pat Wilson's love of his iPhone helped lead to Christmas With Weezer, and why this project made him think about, of all things, the Weezer Snuggie. LISTEN: 1. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" on Spotify | Apple Mus...
The First Noel
Post-Pinkerton - December 18, 2018 11:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 48. "The First Noel" is the fourth track on the Christmas With Weezer EP, and the focus of today's new episode. John explains who is responsible for the instrumentation given that Rivers Cuomo didn't pick up a guitar at these sessions, and why 2008 was the perfect time for such a different a...
O Holy Night
Post-Pinkerton - December 12, 2018 12:30 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 47. "O Holy Night" is a familiar Christmas carol, but not one many would think to be a fit for a band like Weezer. Quite often featured on Christmas albums as a vocal showcase, the song is the most challenging task Rivers Cuomo faced on the Christmas With Weezer EP. On today's episode, John ...
O Come All Ye Faithful
Post-Pinkerton - December 08, 2018 13:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 46. "O Come All Ye Faithful" is the second track on Christmas With Weezer, the EP that began its life as an iPhone application. On today's show, John talks about the band's version of this famous carol and why Rivers Cuomo plays a different role than usual on these recordings. LISTEN: 1...
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Post-Pinkerton - December 05, 2018 13:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 45. On today's show, John kicks off his monthlong look at the Christmas with Weezer EP, which didn't begin its life as an EP but as ... an iPhone application? Learn all about its strange beginnings on today's show! LISTEN: 1. "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" on Spotify | Apple Music | Y...
New Joint
Post-Pinkerton - November 30, 2018 19:59 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 44. "New Joint" is one of the first songs Weezer recorded in their sessions for the Green Album. John talks about this song as the transition point from SS2K to New Joint, and what its original title tells us about this song and its limited scope. LISTEN: 1. "New Joint" on YouTube LYRI...
Cold and Damp
Post-Pinkerton - November 14, 2018 13:30 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 43. "Cold and Damp" is another entry from the mysterious late '90s period of the band's history, where the band wasn't really a band and Rivers Cuomo was isolated and trying to reinvent his songwriting process. Learn what this song has to do with Oasis, Cuomo's unconscious and the Encycloped...
Dreamin'
Post-Pinkerton - November 07, 2018 13:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 42. "Dreamin'" is not a perfect song, but it's one of the more interesting ones we'll ever cover on the show. On today's episode, John discusses the amazing bridge, what about this song reminds him of "Across the Sea," and pizza bagels. Yes: pizza bagels. LISTEN: 1. "Dreamin'" on Spotif...
Diamond Rings
Post-Pinkerton - November 01, 2018 04:30 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 41. "Diamond Rings" never made it onto Maladroit, but it speaks volumes about what did and didn't work in this period of Weezer's work in and out of the studio. LISTEN: 1. "Diamond Rings" (Live) on YouTube 2. "Take Control" on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube 3. "Don't Let Go" on S...
Oh Lisa
Post-Pinkerton - October 24, 2018 13:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 40. Let's not beat around the bush: "Oh Lisa" is one of the worst Weezer songs ever. John discusses why this B-Side misses the mark, and how it was the first Green Album era song some fans heard despite only being officially released as a B-side. LISTEN: 1. "Oh Lisa" on Spotify | Apple...
My Best Friend
Post-Pinkerton - October 17, 2018 12:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 39. I think it's safe to say that today's episode will have more Shrek talk than any other episode you'll hear from this series. John discusses "My Best Friend," its history with the animated film Shrek 2, and why this song wasn't on Make Believe ... until it was. LISTEN: 1. "My Best Fri...
Ev'ry Night
Post-Pinkerton - October 10, 2018 12:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 38. Summer Songs 2000 isn't an official album, and not something the band was planning to revisit until fans demanded it. But there are songs from this time period that didn't make the official unofficial release. "Ev'ry Night" is one such song. John talks about how this minor work illustrat...
I've Had It Up To Here
Post-Pinkerton - October 03, 2018 11:00 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 37. "I've Had It Up To Here" is the fifth track off of Everything Will Be Alright in the End, a return to form for the band and John's favorite Post-Pinkerton album. In discussing this song, John makes the case that it helps illuminate how the guy who wrote Pinkerton isn't as different from ...
Any Friend of Diane's
Post-Pinkerton - September 19, 2018 13:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 36. "Any Friend of Diane's" is the only Weezer song named after an episode of Cheers. That's only one of many facts you'll learn about this song, the final track on the band's most recent album. John is joined by Richard Sallis, the lead vocalist of The Cameraman, to talk about not only the ...
Private Message
Post-Pinkerton - September 12, 2018 13:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 35. "Private Message" saw a lot of iterations in its lifespan as an Album 5 Demo. It's been a Weezer demo written by Rivers Cuomo, a demo re-worked with piano, a demo re-worked as acoustic, a song given to Brian Bell and The Relationship, and then a song stripped down and re-born as a Brian ...
All My Friends Are Insects
Post-Pinkerton - September 05, 2018 10:00 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 34. "All My Friends Are Insects" is an unusual Post-Pinkerton track for many reasons: it's not written by any band members, it's for children, and ... it's almost universally loved by the fans. John is joined by returning guest Diana Metzger -- and his daughter! -- to talk about Weezer's one...
Don't Let Go
Post-Pinkerton - August 29, 2018 10:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 33. John is joined by Diana Metzger of Brightest Young Things to discuss "Don't Let Go," her favorite track off of The Green Album. Diana talks about what this song means to her, the extent of her relationship with the band over the years, and why the tweaked version of the song the band sta...
Misstep
Post-Pinkerton - August 22, 2018 10:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 32. The common joke about "Misstep" is that it was, well, a misstep for the band. But, more than anything, this demo illustrates the ways that Weezer's experimental recording process in 2001 and 2002 constrained their ability to play around by publicizing almost all of their studio work. ...
Trampoline
Post-Pinkerton - August 15, 2018 10:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 31. "Trampoline" is a song from the mysterious Weezer period of the late 1990s, but fans didn't get to hear it until it surfaced on the compilation Death to False Metal in 2010. Learn about the song's history on today's show, and how it illuminates both sides of the "Is this an album?" debat...
I Wanna Know
Post-Pinkerton - August 08, 2018 10:00 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 30. "I Wanna Know" is one of Weezer's most forgettable songs, which is why John and his guest Scott Auth (I Miss the Old Weezer) spend most of the episode talking about their Top 5 songs that evoke the classic 1990s Weezer sound. LISTEN: 1. "I Wanna Know" on YouTube 2. "Passion Fruit T...
Fake Smiles and Nervous Laughter
Post-Pinkerton - August 01, 2018 10:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 29. John welcomes Scott Auth (I Miss the Old Weezer blog) to the show to discuss "Fake Smiles and Nervous Laughter," what it has to do with the band Wavves, the specific way it invokes Pinkerton, and the broader ways it plays around with the '90s Weezer sound. LISTEN: 1. "Fake Smiles and...
Preacher's Son
Post-Pinkerton - July 25, 2018 10:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 28. "Preacher's Son" is a curious song in Weezer's history, because while it's ostensibly in some part about Rivers Cuomo's relationship with his father, the song mostly avoids talking about that relationship at all. LISTEN: 1. "Preacher's Son" on YouTube 2. "Say It Ain't So" on Spot...
Memories
Post-Pinkerton - July 18, 2018 10:00 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 27. "Memories" holds a strange place amongst Weezer's Post-Pinkerton work: dismissed by fans upon release, only to later inspire what might be the band's most beloved tour of the Post-Pinkerton era. John discusses all of this, plus the song's connection to the cast and crew of the Jackass fr...
Burndt Jamb
Post-Pinkerton - July 11, 2018 10:00 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 26. If you like Weezer demos, then you've come to the right episode, because we've got a bunch of them in today's show about "Burndt Jamb." The Maladroit track started as a silly parody of jam bands and evolved into something much different during album production. John tracks the journey --...
The Organ Player
Post-Pinkerton - July 04, 2018 10:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 25. John is once again joined by Alex Rice, co-host of the Bruce Springsteen Song of the Week podcast, to discuss "The Organ Player," a demo from Weezer's scrapped fifth album sessions. John and Alex talk about why the song marks a pivotal turning point in Rivers Cuomo's evolution as a songw...
Heart Songs
Post-Pinkerton - June 27, 2018 10:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 24. John is joined by Alex Rice, the co-host of the Bruce Springsteen Song of the Week Podcast, to talk about Weezer's "Heart Songs," why it mentions Bruce Springsteen, and similarities between the two groups he's spent most of his life listening to. LISTEN: 1. "Heart Songs" on Spotify...
Velouria
Post-Pinkerton - June 24, 2018 06:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsEp. 23. Weezer kicks off a nationwide tour with the Pixies this weekend, so what better way to celebrate than with Weezer's cover of The Pixies' "Velouria." John discusses why this song was so important to the start of the Post-Pinkerton and which famous musician thinks this is the best Pixies c...
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